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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23595295">Not Your Everyday Road Trip</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slybrarian/pseuds/Slybrarian'>Slybrarian</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Generation Kill</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Kink Meme, M/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 08:06:49</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,313</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23595295</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slybrarian/pseuds/Slybrarian</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A series of connected kink meme fills, mostly featuring Ray taking it like a champ, and also a couple unprompted bits to act as framing.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Brad Colbert/Ray Person, Nate Fick/Ray Person, Ray Person/Other(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>54</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Unprompted Intro</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ray started to get a bad feeling after Wynn introduced the new lieutenant to the platoon, or at least what passed for a skeleton of a platoon. He couldn't quite put a finger on why. Oh, sure, he was a lieutenant and that was bad news in general, and he was about sixteen years old, but Brad gossiped worse than an old church lady and supposedly he'd heard good things. Ray was willing to generally trust his judgement even if Ray was living proof that sometimes it was really terrible. There was something else there, a vaguely ominous sense of familiarity. Maybe it was the voice? By marine standards he had a pretty nice one. Possibly it'd been used to yell at Ray at some point or other. </p>
<p>There was a knock at the door of the squad bay, where Ray was trying not to listen to Brad's masturbatory scheme to custom order a turret shield. Wynn called, "Person, the lieutenant wants to see you."</p>
<p>Brad gave Ray one of those scathing you-dumb-fucker looks of his, but Ray had been around him long enough for the effect to have worn off. Mostly. "You've been with me the entire time, you know damned well I haven't done anything."</p>
<p>"Did you do anything before now?"</p>
<p>"Fuck you, man."</p>
<p>Ray followed Wynn over to the offices. Lt. Fick was toward the end of the hall, in a small room without any decorations beyond a sad little box that might have some framed photos and the like in it. Fick stood up from behind his desk as Ray walked in, trying to stand straight. First-ish impressions and all that. </p>
<p>"Thanks, Gunny," the lieutenant said. "I'll call you when we're done."</p>
<p>"Sir," Wynn said, giving Ray a curious and overly skeptical look as he shut the door behind him.</p>
<p>"I wanted to have a one-on-one chat with you," Fick said, coming around the desk. "To clear the air before we get too busy."</p>
<p>"Clear the air, sir?" Ray repeated.</p>
<p>The lieutenant smiled slightly, and no one who looked that young had any right to look so cocky and confident. Never mind if he was probably a couple years older than Ray, he still seemed like he should be doing literal babysitting, not watching overgrown toddlers in the USMC. "About our previous encounter. I figured it would be better to address it directly instead of letting it bubble under the surface until it exploded."</p>
<p>"Did we meet in Afghanistan?" Ray suggested. </p>
<p>"No. I'm sure it'll come to you. Your observation skills are very good. I'm assured of this."</p>
<p>Ray's eyes narrowed. He didn't like mysteries any more than he liked people talking about him behind his back. He ran through the possibilities, discarding pretty much any directly related to the marines, even some off-base family event, because there wouldn't be all this run-around. At the same time, it wasn't like the two of them would run in the same circles. Fick probably spent his off hours at poetry readings or helping at shelters for elderly dogs or something, while Ray was more the sort to damage his hearing in dubious concerts or get railed by a bunch of guys at a place with even more rubber than - wait.</p>
<p>Very deliberately, Ray reached behind him to the light switch and flipped it off. There was still a little light coming through the closed blinds, but the change in ambience was close enough. He even held out a hand to obscure the upper half of the lieutenant's face, like he was wearing a half mask. He should have spotted those eyes instantly, but the mouth was an even bigger give away.</p>
<p>"No fucking way," Ray hissed. "This is bullshit."</p>
<p>"I'll admit to being as surprised as you are," he replied, not that he looked surprised or put out in the least. Yeah, that was definitely the same stone-cold collected expression he'd had while trying out the flogger.</p>
<p>"What the fuck," Ray went on. "This is fucking unbelievable. I drive a fucking hour away specifically to avoid any chance of running into a marine, and this happens. What are the chances?"</p>
<p>Fick shrugged. "Apparently pretty high when you're both avoiding - and looking for - the same thing."</p>
<p>"How did you even know?" Ray had been wearing his ridiculously expensive leather hood the entire time, which an ordinary person would assume would provide some tiny amount of privacy. It wasn't like he'd left his tags on or was the sort of asshole who got a globe and anchor plastered across his body.</p>
<p>"You have a very distinctive voice and physique, even if it's hidden under the uniform now," the lieutenant explained. He put one solitary finger against Ray's sternum and dragged it across his chest, shoulder, and arm until it reached the end of his t-shirt's sleeve, where one of his tats was peaking out. "The same with the ink."</p>
<p>Ray groaned. "Jesus, I hate fucking recon marines."</p>
<p>"Even though you are one?"</p>
<p>"Especially now that I am one! This is all Brad's fault. I should have ignored him and stayed with a sane unit."</p>
<p>"You don't mean that."</p>
<p>"Of course I don't fucking mean it." At the slightest raise of the lieutenant's eyebrows, Ray hastily added, "Sir."</p>
<p>"It's a shame that our current circumstances limit the allowable scope of our interactions," the lieutenant said. "However, I've been assured that despite appearances you're a highly competent professional, and I'd like to think I'm one as well. I'm certain that we can maintain a proper working relationship through our upcoming deployment. Or, if not necessarily proper, one that will not affect the smooth functioning of our platoon."</p>
<p>"...right," Ray said after taking a few moments to decipher the Ivy League level bullshit and figure out what the lieutenant's words actually meant. "I don't know about proper, but functional I've got down pat. I even have a certificate and everything."</p>
<p>"Excellent." The lieutenant reached out again and put his hand on Ray's shoulder, pressing down ever so slightly but in a way that made him want to fall to his knees regardless. "Leaving aside concerns about the unit, corporal, if hypothetically someone named Nate were to invite a guy named Ray to dinner Saturday, do you think he'd accept? Or would he prefer to forget they'd ever met and just move on as if nothing had ever happened?"</p>
<p>"As long as it's not too fancy," Ray begrudgingly said. "I refuse to dress up, and I'm on a corporal's salary."</p>
<p>"They don't pay me much better. I'm sure you can manage to dig out something that buttons up." The lieutenant flipped the lights back on and sat down behind his desk. "In the meantime, let's talk radios."</p>
<p>Jesus tittyfucking christ. Now Ray was sure he wasn't going to get shot by some haji goatfucker like his mom worried. He was going to die from officer-induced stress before he even got out of the country.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Stress Relief</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: Nate likes to use Ray for stress relief.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>There wasn't much warning. He was on the way back from taking a piss when soft footsteps fell in behind his. He had seconds to decide, left or right, toward the victors and the platoon or toward the latest in the endless series of berms their meandering invasion had brought them to.</p>
<p>Ray went right.</p>
<p>There was a rusted old truck a dozen meters ahead, up on fucking blocks like this was a fucking trailer park. Two seconds after it was between him and the unwashed masses the footsteps picked up and he was being pushed up against it. Thank fucking god the MOPP suits were gone; the thought of trying to manage with those again was a definite boner-killer. His uniform was absolutely disgusting but at least it wasn't made of enough rubber to cover an entire fetish party, the sort you definitely weren't supposed to meet someone at shortly before meeting them at work.</p>
<p>He had to give the lieutenant this, he was efficient and to the point. He had to assume the other officers would fumble around for-fucking-ever, but not his. Relieve him of his weapon, hand against his back to bend him over the tailgate like a cheerleader on prom night, couple small kicks to spread his legs further apart, quick fingers deftly undoing his fly and belt; a masterpiece of ruthless directness. Godfather and Chaos himself would approve heartily. Except for all the buttfucking and so on, of course. Ray didn't get much warning, just a hand placed on his hip and the clink of the lieutenant's own pants dropping, and yeah, that was fair, he wouldn't want to finger himself either given the general hygienic situation. It wasn't like his ass could hurt worse than it already did from weeks on MREs and sitting on entirely inadequate padding.</p>
<p>He still hissed a little as the blunt head of the lieutenant's cock pressed through his hole, little more than spit and whatever came on the condom to ease it in. There was a little satisfied grunt behind him as the lieutenant bottomed out. He gave Ray a few strokes to adjust and then started to pound him quick and hard, the sort of proper fucking that reminded a man that even if the lieutenant looked he weighed a hundred pounds including gear he was pretty much all lean muscle. It was half the reason Ray lowered himself to allow an officer anywhere near his ass: he never treated Ray like he was breakable, pretty much the only person to do so since he was fresh out of boot and Janika Sampson from motor pool taught him what pegging was. It was exactly what he needed right then. Even if this wasn't going to last much longer than a combat jack getting thoroughly reamed scratched an itch he couldn't take care of himself right now.</p>
<p>He must have been making a little too much noise, because the lieutenant's hand clamped over his mouth. The other moved from his hip and around to where Ray's cock swung heavy and dripping between his thighs. Short, rough strokes, in time with the thrusts up his ass, surprisingly smooth skin given the circumstances, way better than Ray's hands, although that could just be his imagination. It didn't take much to set Ray off; the lieutenant slowed down briefly to let him ride out his orgasm before slamming home a few last times with soft gasps of his own. They stayed joined together, the lieutenant leaning against him and panting, for another minute before the LT's softened cock slid out and he took a step back.</p>
<p>Ray turned around as they hitched up their pants and made sure all their gear was still in the right places. Total elapsed time was maybe three or four minutes, pretty good compared to how long it took Ray to crank one out in his current sleepless state, a very efficient use of time for both of them. The lieutenant certainly looked relaxed, which was a pleasing change of pace from harried, worried, or furious. For a moment their eyes met and they had, well, a moment in the pale moonlight.</p>
<p>"Get some sleep, you look like shit," the lieutenant said before disappearing into the darkness.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Trade In Kind</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: Nate/Any, trading for lube <br/>- So what /did/ Nate trade away for that gun lube? Or what does he imply in order to make another person ridiculously jealous?</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>While the guy from RCT-1 fucked Ray's mouth, the lieutenant watched with blank-faced disinterest from where he was standing lookout by the end of the truck. He might as well have been listening to a briefing or waiting out complaints about the speed of international shipping for all the reaction he had. Admittedly, watching some middle-aged POG's sweaty balls slap against Ray's chin wasn't quality pornography, but surely a little blushing or a hardon wouldn't be out of the question. There was a hint of tight-eyed displeasure when the other marine gripped Ray's hair too tight and he squeaked a little around the cock assaulting his tonsils. Honestly this entire sorry affair could have been a lot more fun for everyone if the man had just let Ray take charge and show why his mouth was a useful tool for bribery. This was exactly why Ray didn't sleep with marines, or even just fuck or blow them, if there were any other options available. It was all wham, bam, and not so much as a thank you ma'am. No wonder half of them went through wives as fast as they did overpriced trucks.</p>
<p>There was some piglike grunting as the man buried himself into Ray's mouth and a flood of salty stickiness flooded it. After another thirty seconds or so he pulled away, a trail of spit and cum following. The guy buttoned up and started to turn away, but the lieutenant coughed slightly. Ray stood up and waited while the guy dug a can of gun lube out of the truck and tossed it over. He started walking, eager to put this nonsense firmly in the past where it belonged. Even by the standards of clandestine desert blowjobs this had been mediocre at best, and that was before recent events had raised Ray's expectations considerably.</p>
<p>"Pleasure doing business with you," the lieutenant said, waiting for Ray to reach him before turning on his heel.</p>
<p>"Fucking recon weirdos," the guy muttered behind him. Honestly, how did he think he had any room to talk? He'd just proven he literally couldn't get off without a recon marine to hold his dick for him.</p>
<p>Several random twists and turns through the camp later, the lieutenant opened up one of the few pockets not being used to satisfy his pen fetish and handed Ray a baby wipe. Ray cleaned up the drool down his chin, and then reached up into his shirt to do something about his pits while he had a chance.</p>
<p>"Excellent work, Ray," the lieutenant said suddenly. "Not that I expected anything other than top performance from you. I should put you in for a citation."</p>
<p>"I deserve a fucking Purple Heart after the beating he gave my throat," Ray groused back as his heart beat a little faster. "Jerks like him are why I gave up on glory holes within a mile of a base."</p>
<p>"I'm sure you'll recover."</p>
<p>"I think I've got ball hair in my teeth. It's definitely a wound of some kind."</p>
<p>"No, you don't." He reached over and adjusted how Ray's shemagh sat around his neck.</p>
<p>"You couldn't have held out for batteries too?"</p>
<p>Ray didn't need to look to feel the side eye the lieutenant was giving him. "Maybe if I was offering up Brad, but I had to make do with what I had available."</p>
<p>"That's a low blow, LT."</p>
<p>"In all honesty, there's only so many supply sergeants perverse enough to make such a trade, and while maybe your ass could have gotten batteries that's not up for sale for any price."</p>
<p>"It's really more renting, isn't it?"</p>
<p>"Sophistry, Ray? Really?" With that the lieutenant turned away as Ray kept walking straight back toward his victor. Musn't be seen in public together with an explanation or the children would talk, and probably rap too.</p>
<p>"Where the fuck have you been?" Brad demanded as he dropped into his seat.</p>
<p>"If you must know, I was trying to whore out my mouth," Ray replied. "I offered to blow anyone who'd give me a jalapeno and cheese but those regimental fucks were too stingy to take me up on my offer." Behind him, Trombley made a vague disgusted noise in his sleep.</p>
<p>"Funny. We're oscar mike any minute now. Don't wander off so far next time you need to take a dump."</p>
<p>"It's always about shit with you. I've told you a hundred times, I'm not into that."</p>
<p>There was a knock on the far window and the lieutenant leaned in. He handed in Ray's hard-earned lube. "I scammed this off some guy from RCT-1."</p>
<p>"Sir, I could kiss you," Brad said, accepting the gift with an awestruck expression. There was more banter but Ray wasn't paying attention to that, because the lieutenant briefly met Ray's eyes while grinning broadly. Ray flashed a smile back. No matter how large Brad's big gay mancrush got, someone else was going to be kissing those lips, and maybe doing other things to them too, once they were home and could stop being the lieutenant and corporal for a while.</p>
<p>Man, one of these days Ray was going to have to break some bad news to Brad. Watching his expression when he realized how much his vaunted observation skills had failed him would be absolutely worth whatever ass kicking he got for keeping secrets afterward.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Sleep Aid</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: Brad/Ray in public<br/>- Ray thinks he can get Brad to go for it.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ray was supposed to be on watch and having a little alone time. They were on twenty-five percent, which was really convenient because in a four-person team - excluding the reporter, who could sleep whenever the fuck he wanted and yet often choose not to, what the fuck - it meant that one of them should be awake while the other three took a nap like it's kindergarten. Except Brad was right over there sitting next to the victor, staring off into the distance, brooding so hard that any moment he was going to start wearing fetish gear and adopt some of the orphans they pass on the road.</p>
<p>"You should jerk off," Ray said, leaning against the hood of the victor and looking down at him. "It helps you sleep. Proven medical fact, I asked Doc about it once."</p>
<p>Brad's face slowly turned from the darkness and toward Ray. "Shut up. I'm trying to sleep."</p>
<p>"You're propped up against the wheel, that's not sleeping. You're also disturbing my own chance to jerk off while everyone's asleep. Seriously, you dug a grave, why not use it?"</p>
<p>"You can use it. I'll take first watch and you can have mine."</p>
<p>"Uh, no. I know how this goes, you say we'll trade but you never actually wake me up or get to sleep yourself, and then we all die when you pass out and fall over onto me and we crash into a ditch."</p>
<p>Brad visibly tried to glare, but couldn't quite manage it and mostly looked kind of pathetic. "If that's the expected result of me slumping over, you're woefully unprepared for a possible casualty in the vehicle."</p>
<p>"Seriously, I'll just walk over that way to chat with gunny and you can jerk it in peace."</p>
<p>"I tried," Brad admitted. "I'm too tired."</p>
<p>"Fuck, Brad, you should have lead with that. Let your buddy Ray help with that." Ray slung his weapon over his back and knelt down, reaching for Brad's fly.</p>
<p>"You are not jerking me off," Brad said, trying to bat his hands away.</p>
<p>"Of course not, don't be stupid," Ray said. "Have you seen the state of my hands? It's like using sandpaper. Which hasn't stopped me so far but you deserve nothing but the best."</p>
<p>"Ray."</p>
<p>He got between Brad's legs, forcing them further apart as he did. "Don't try that 'I'm too straight to be blown by a guy' BS. If I remember that time in Australia, so do you."</p>
<p>"Ray! We are in the middle of a fucking combat zone."</p>
<p>"That's a pretty good way to describe the conditions in Australia, too."</p>
<p>"I'm not having sex with you when we're surrounded by other marines."</p>
<p>"First off, again, that describes Australia. Only this time there's actually fewer marines and they're all in one direction." Ray grinned as he managed to get Brad's fly open. "Second, we agreed that blowjobs aren't really sex, which is why blowjobs don't make you gay."</p>
<p>"I never agreed to that stupid fucking idea."</p>
<p>Ray was perfectly willing to do all sort of perverse and naughty things in far more public settings than this, but he definitely was not going to have an in-depth discussion about Brad's hangups about intimacy and sexual identity with Trombley snoring away on the other side of a humvee. Admittedly, that proxminity did add a little extra urgency beyond the usual, but Ray could only get Brad's cock out of his disproportionately small fly so quickly. And oh boy, there it was, the mythical Colbert donkey dick. Frankly it was a miracle that Brad didn't have guys trying to go down on him all the time; it was so sublimely perfect that it had forced Ray to break his rule against doing it with marines that might remember him. Brad sucked in a deep breath, maybe because of the cold air or maybe because he was genuinely annoyed, and Ray paused. He wasn't much of a gentleman but one had been rubbing off on him lately and some of those noises about polite behavior and the value of patience had apparently sunk in.</p>
<p>"Fuck it," Brad said. He reached out and grabbed Ray by the hair, pulling his head down like a marine who wanted to get off fast and wasn't worried that Ray might break if used a bit roughly. Excellent.</p>
<p>Ray proceeded to demonstrate that he could do more than just kill swiftly and silently. He could also do it without breathing, thank you Uncle Sam, and once he had a minute to work himself up he could take Brad all the way down. Ray wasn't the biggest fan of deep-throating, frankly he thought it limited options, but he wasn't above doing it when he wanted to get someone off quickly or just show off. Judging by the muted noises Brad was making and the tightening grip on Ray's head, Brad certainly seemed to appreciate the effort. He probably didn't get service like this often unless he ponied up some extra hazard pay. By the time Ray started to run low on air, Brad was holding him tight and shooting right down his throat.</p>
<p>"No need to think about spitting or swallowing this time, right?" Ray rasped, getting back up to a regular kneeling position, one that was just standard levels of no-homo borderline conduct.</p>
<p>"You are the most degenerate person I have ever met," Brad said, almost fondly, while tucking himself back in.</p>
<p>"Thanks."</p>
<p>Brad suddenly gave Ray a shove to the side, leaving him lying next to Brad on the dirt, which was totally unnecessary because Ray had heard the same footsteps approaching. It was almost as if he was a fucking recon marine too. He pushed himself up into sitting position beside Brad and put his weapon between his legs to hide his raging hardon. A few seconds later the lieutenant came around the vehicle, a weary look on his face.</p>
<p>"Brad. Ray," he said with a nod down toward them.</p>
<p>"Sir," Brad bit out. Someone was still a bit flustered, it seemed.</p>
<p>"Twenty-five percent watch, gentlemen. Which of you is supposed to be asleep?"</p>
<p>"Brad," Ray said. "It's really weird, he's the one who decided the order we're taking watch and he still refuses to sleep."</p>
<p>"I'm disappointed, sergeant. You need to set a good example for the rest of the men."</p>
<p>Brad must have been even more tired that Ray realized, because for a moment he looked almost hurt. "I've been trying, but the interruptions are making it difficult."</p>
<p>"My apologies. I'll leave you be, and I'm sure Ray will as well."</p>
<p>"Hey, LT. Since we're on the topic of sleep, I'm pretty sure I saw Mike wander past a few minutes ago," Ray said. Brad made a disgruntled noise next to him. "So should you be getting some yourself?"</p>
<p>"I'll turn in once I've finished my rounds."</p>
<p>"If you have trouble sleeping, you should jerk off. I was just telling Brad that orgasms are the best sleep aid." Said asshole drew in a sharp breath and elbowed Ray in the side, as if he thought the lieutenant was going to be scandalized. Christ, he probably really did think their intrepid leader was a virginal choir boy despite being a marine.</p>
<p>The lieutenant started to make one of those exasperated expressions he often did when Ray spoke up, where he started to roll his eyes but caught himself and tried to be all proper and unphased, only to abort suddenly as he got a better look at Ray. Oh yes, that was definite frustration there, not unlike when he'd seen Ray's face after Rudy's espresso fiasco, but perhaps with a hint of jealousy this time. Not that Ray cared about that for any reason other than the simple joy of getting a rise out of a man so unflappable he hadn't murdered even one superior officer.</p>
<p>"I'll take that under advisement, Corporal Person," the lieutenant said before turning and stalking away.</p>
<p>"If you get me fired," Brad hissed once he was safely out of earshot, "you'll be wishing you were dead."</p>
<p>"Yeah, yeah," Ray said. He'd heard all that before plenty of times, and not just about clandestine sex. He climbed to his feet. "I'm going to stretch my legs. Go the fuck to sleep."</p>
<p>Or more accurately, he was going to go give someone else a bedtime blowjob, and maybe if he was a very good boy he could get one of his own.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Aftercare</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>A denouement, of a sort.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Afterwards, when Ray had slept for days and told his mom about his promotion and not told her about leaving the Corps because he didn't want her to worry about his complete lack of plans, he showed up at the lieutenant's place unannounced. It wasn't how they did things. The lieutenant handled scheduling, Ray just showed up as directed for dinner or some light whipping. The closest Ray got to spontaneity, outside of some ill-advised half-delirious field flirting, was the time he had two dozen roses and oversized box of chocolate delivered to his office on Valentine's Day from 'Suzie', and that was mostly to watch him get razzed by the other officers.</p>
<p>Mostly.</p>
<p>"So I know I should have called," Ray said as the lieutenant let him into his cute rental house, "but we need to talk."</p>
<p>"It's fine," the lieutenant said as he shut the door behind them. "I was thinking the same thing."</p>
<p>That sounded bad. Ray would call it breakup bad, except he wasn't even sure there was much there to break up. Did you break up with a fuck buddy? The last time Ray had been even vaguely in such a situation it had ended by a long silence, which, when you thought about it, was pretty much what had been going on since they got back from Iraq.</p>
<p>"Ray. Calm down."</p>
<p>"What? I am calm. I haven't even said anything, Jesus."</p>
<p>"Quiet's not a good sign with you, and you're basically pacing."</p>
<p>"Oh, that's just fucking wonderful, LT," Ray said. "People yell at me for months to stop talking so much and now you're worried because I didn't immediately start talking."</p>
<p>"Nate."</p>
<p>"Huh?"</p>
<p>"Drop the ranks. Please."</p>
<p>Ray took a deep breath and forced himself to stand still. It was sometimes hard to remember there'd been that brief period where, far away from anything even remotely work-related, they'd been on a first-name basis. </p>
<p>"Yes, sir," he tried, only to get that uniquely blank-faced frustrated expression. "Not right now?"</p>
<p>"No. Like I said, we need to talk, and that's just going to get in the way."</p>
<p>"Talk. Right, okay, let's talk." Ray could do that. "So here's the thing: I don't have a clue where we go from here. Like, this hasn't exactly been a normal dating situation. It's been a couple months of weekend kink-fests, a couple more months of sitting in Kuwait with our thumbs of our asses instead of anything more fun, and then a long string of shit that ping-ponged between really boring and really horrifying with some furtive fucking thrown in. And you know, that was fine. Great, even. Doing something that was insane because it was just illegal was a nice change of pace from doing something that's insane because it got a lot of people killed."</p>
<p>Nate looked faintly amused. "Has anyone ever told you that you've got a real way with words?"</p>
<p>"All the fucking time, only as an insult. But now we're back, I'm ditching the marines, and I need to figure out what to do with my life. I mean, I'm all for us keeping this going. I don't know how much else we've got in common, but we're having a lot of fun in bed - and a lot of other places too - and that's got to count for a lot, right?"</p>
<p>"Ray, I am not the sort of person who makes long-term commitments based on shared sexual fetishes," Nate said. "It's not a 24/7 lifestyle thing for me, and I need more than just a good sub."</p>
<p>"Yeah. I get it," Ray said, staring down at his boots. "I'm not exactly ideal spouse material if you want to keep climbing the ranks, even if it wasn't super illegal."</p>
<p>Nate grasped Ray's chin and gently turned it until they were looking each other in the eye. "What I really need is an equal partner who's brave, smart, and compassionate. Fortunately, I can think of someone who fits that bill despite his best efforts at appearing otherwise."</p>
<p>"Brad, right?" Ray said, a smile forcing its way onto his face.</p>
<p>"No. He's exactly what he looks like. Let's face it, it's half of why we're both attracted to him." Nate waved toward the kitchen. "Come on. I feel like we both need a drink for this conversation"</p>
<p>"Fuck yes," Ray said thankfully. He sat down at the battered third-hand estate auction excuse for a table and waited as Nate retrieved a couple of bottles from the fridge, much better than the swill Ray kept at his own place.</p>
<p>"First things first," Nate said once they were settled. "Even if it weren't 'super illegal', I wouldn't be sending you to dependent hell anyways. I'm leaving the marines too."</p>
<p>"Wait, what?"</p>
<p>"I put in the papers today. Mike's the only one who knows outside the chain of command. I told him before we even got back in country. I'll tell everyone Monday."</p>
<p>"You can't quit, you're the only competent officer around!"</p>
<p>"I'll take your word for it - but do you think I'll stay that way?"</p>
<p>"Fuck yes, I do."</p>
<p>Nate shook his head. "I wish I had your confidence. Given some of my lapses… no. And that's without the part where I got so desperate for stress relief that I started fucking my boytoy in the middle of a combat zone."</p>
<p>"I thought we weren't doing the kinky talk?"</p>
<p>"You're right, my apologies," Nate replied with exactly the wry smile Ray had been hoping to evoke. </p>
<p>"You <em>do</em> have a plan, right?"</p>
<p>"Grad school. I'm looking into different programs." Nate gave Ray a piercing look, and didn't even bother to ask the obvious question and instead just sighed, "<em>Ray</em>."</p>
<p>"I don't know! Community college, or vocational school, or just find some place that'll accept my training certs and let me get straight to work. I've had like two weeks to think about this and half that time I've been drunk or asleep."</p>
<p>"If that's your response, maybe I will do some kinky talk after all," Nate said. "Let this be my first and final order to you as a captain to sergeant. Take this week to investigate your options. Make a list, write down pros and cons. We'll compare next week and see where things match."</p>
<p>"You're the book learning guy," Ray protested. "You can just tell me which is best and I'll do that."</p>
<p>"I was serious when I said 'equal partner'. Your needs are as important as mine. You have to know what those are."</p>
<p>"Fine," Ray said grumpily. "But just so you know, I've never had anyone assign homework for a date."</p>
<p>"Someone's cranky. I'm going to order a pizza, and after we eat we're going to see if I can do something about your attitude."</p>
<p>"Thank Christ."</p>
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